Disarmed and disenfranchised isn't a good position to be in. Booker is right, this whole thing has been a con trick of the first order. Take just one example of how the euro-elite tried to con the sceptics that this wasn't the constitution: "Look it's a much shorter document," they said, and then pointed to one or two worthless excisions.

Sure, the new "treaty" is only two hundred and some pages long, but that's only because they changed the font size and line spacing used in the original three hundred plus page constitution.

As to the Irish "no". The sensible money is on the eu doing what it did last time the Irish told them to shove a treaty where the sun don't shine: They'll make a few cosmetc concessions (guarantee Ireland's right to decide its neutrality and abortion policies), pump a shedload of cash into "development projects" and then put it back to the people of Ireland in about a year's time. With the implied threat that the loot would dry up, theat Ireland would be left behind by the rest of the "community" and that they'd keep getting asked to vote until they learned to do what they were told.

It worked for the Nice Treaty, after all.

Don't get me wrong, I'm damned proud of what the Irish did, but against the vested interests of the eu super-state I don't hold out much hope for this being a long rebellion.